Published: September 05, 2008 01:28 pm            

St. Anthony cross country has good numbers

Coach Kevin Wiedman has good numbers out for his Effingham St. Anthony High School girls and boys cross country teams and is expecting good seasons.

"Both teams hope to make it to the sectional meet and compete well once there," said Wiedman of his team's goals. "We our excited by the number of freshmen competing on the boys team. Our goal is to work well as a team and to improve every meet. This is an exciting young team.

"This could be one of the better teams St. Anthony has had. They are confident and experienced. If everyone stays healthy, they hope to make a run at qualifying for the state meet."

Letterwinners back for the boys squad include juniors Drew Willenborg, Andrew Grunloh and Paul Sudkamp. Letterwinners back for the girls squad include seniors Courtney Koester, Jenny Brown and Michelle Dasenbrock, juniors Lauren Hoelscher, Taylor Oltman and Kelsey Swanson and sophomores Chelsey Spruell and Elizabeth Wortman.

"The boys have been running well as a team," said Wiedman. "We consistently have a pack of five or six kids running together. They really work well together. Drew and Grunloh have shown great leadership. They have done a great job of keeping the intensity up during practices. The boy's biggest weaknesses are the lack of a true No. 1 runner and youth. The boys just need to continue to improve. It's tough for freshmen to come in and immediately be successful in cross country. The boys need to be patient and stay motivated.

"The girls team is the complete opposite. With the exception of Liz Wortman, our top six is completely made up of juniors and seniors. Our biggest strength is that most our top girls have been here before. They have had success in the past. Our biggest weakness is our lack of experience past the sixth spot. Our No. 7 through No. 11 runners are in their first or second years of cross country."

Coach Wiedman talked about his runners and how they will help the program this season.

"Drew Willenborg is beginning his third season in cross country. He had a surprisingly successful freshman year helping the team reach the state cross country meet. I'm not sure Drew's heart was in it last season, but he has come out this season and looked wonderful. He has taken a huge step forward both in his times and in his leadership.

"Andrew Grunloh didn't run as a freshman and spent much of last season catching up, but he came in this season in good shape and is ready for a solid season.

"The boys have a lot of young talent. Ryan Hoelscher, Patrick Grunloh, Mitchell Wortman and Anthony Raddatz, have come in with a lot of confidence and have been running well early on. Anthony Raddatz is our top freshman. Anthony wants to be good and is willing to work hard. He has looked good early this season. I look for him to be our top runner by the end of the season

"Taylor Oltman was the last girl standing last season following a bunch of injuries. She began the year competing for No. 3 or No. 4 runner on the team and ended up being our top runner. Taylor gained a lot of confidence last season finishing in the top 20 at a very tough sectional. She is running well early this season.

"Lauren Hoelscher is coming off a season where she missed a lot of time with a hip injury. She had an impressive track season and looks strong this year. She is running second for us.

"Michelle Dasenbrock is still just figuring this out. Last season was her first and she missed most of it with a variety of injuries. Michelle is probably the best athlete we have on the team. She ran a lot of miles over the summer and is prepared to challenge Taylor for third on the team."

"Freshman Liz Wortman is our top girl. It's always tough judging how good a freshman is going to be. All we know is that Liz has been running in front for the girls all year. We think she can be one of the top runners in the area by the end of the season.

"We lost a lot of talent from last season. Nicole Rutledge was a three-time state qualifier who was always prepared and solid throughout the season. Matt Feldhake was as celebrated an area runner as St. Anthony has ever had. He was three time all-state including state champion as a junior."

Millie Lange can be reached at 217-347-7151 ext. 123 or millie.lange@effinghamdailynews.com.